Angry PMC Bank customers have demanded the government's intervention in the crisis
The father-son promoters of crisis-hit real estate firm Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) have been taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate. A court in Mumbai has sent them to custody till October 22. The ED is questioning Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan and his son Sarang Wadhawan in an alleged money laundering case worth over Rs 4,300 crore. The two were last week questioned by the Mumbai Police.
The troubled Punjab and Maharashtra (PMC) Bank gave 73 per cent of its entire loan book to the now bankrupt HDIL. The two promoters allegedly created 21,000 fake accounts to camouflage the loans from PMC.
The real estate firm continued to default on loans while PMC Bank allegedly did not mention the matter in its annual report. The co-operative bank kept giving loans despite the company being taken for insolvency, investigators have.
The father-son promoters of HDIL openly maintained a flamboyant lifestyle as they moved around with armed guards, sources have told NDTV. The two were often seen in parties hosted by Mumbai's who's who, sources said on October 5.
The former managing director of PMC Bank Joy Thomas is in jail.
More than two dozen cooperative banks are now under the administration of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), but PMC Bank - with deposits of Rs 11,620 crore as of March 31 - is by far the largest.
Depositors of PMC Bank will have to stick to the withdrawal limit of Rs 40,000 for six months that was fixed by the RBI. A petition in the Supreme Court, seeking a bailout package and withdrawal of limit for depositors, filed by Delhi-based activist Bejon Kumar Misra was turned down by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi today.